Heretofore in the use of dump trucks including a tilt body or dump box having a pivotal tailgate, in railroad cars and off-road trucks, and the dropping of hard objects of metal and concrete into said trucks, eventually the flooring plate and sidewalls become damaged, distorted, bent, or fractured, requiring repair or replacement.
Heretofore in order to maintain the life of such flooring plates for dump trucks, railroad cars, and off-road trucks, it has been common to use a wood floor including a series of planks arranged side-by-side and mounted and secured upon the flooring plate and sidewalls or bolted thereto. These are usually 2" by 6" or 2" by 8" to provide a protective surface for the dump truck metal flooring and sidewalls.
The wood overstructure absorbs shock and protects the steel flooring plate from damage for a considerable period of time. Under severe usage, eventually the wood flooring becomes damaged or splintered and loses its protective character with respect to the underlying floor plate. Continued use of the dump truck results in subsequent damage to the floor plate distorting, fracturing, or bending portions thereof.
Heretofore it has been conventional practice to replace the wood flooring as soon as considerable damage to the floor has been noticed. Normally, such replacement involves approximately $300 for lumber and another $200 in labor to provide a replacement protective wood flooring normally bolted or otherwise secured to the basic flooring plate. The wood flooring under severe use lasts for approximately one year before it must be replaced and new lumber reinstalled. Often, when there is damage, distortion, bending, or fracture to the floor plate, it effects corresponding damage and cave-in of the sides of the dump truck body. The tailgate does not close properly.
Without proper care and replacement of the wood flooring, the basic steel flooring ultimately will be damaged, distorted, bent, or fractured to such an extent that its replacement is required at considerable expense. It is known to provide a reinforcement for the steel flooring of a dump truck and wherein overlying a hard wood flooring there is positioned and secured a second steel plate to overlie the wood flooring. This is an expensive procedure.